Government & Communications

In Alaska, where many communities can only be reached by plane or boat, the Federal Communications Commission has given telecommunications companies $4.6 billion in Universal Service Fund subsidies since 2016. That’s more than $600 per Alaskan per year. More per resident than in any other state. Yet after all that spending, Alaska still ranks near the bottom for access to the very land-based, high-speed internet service the money was meant to deliver. Some communities have yet to be wired at all.

Industry groups urged the Federal Communications Commission to overhaul the nation's universal service fund auditing system, arguing reviews have become slow, inconsistent, and disproportionately burdensome. The comments came in response to a broad FCC inquiry into possible reforms to the Universal Service Administrative Company's operations, governance, and oversight framework. The dominant theme was audits, designed to assess compliance with FCC rules and safeguard the Universal Service

A year ago today, President Trump abruptly “canceled” the Digital Equity Act (DEA) for being a “woke handout.” The DEA, created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021, directed funding to states, territories, and community organizations to address the Digital Divide and ensure that everyone has internet-enabled devices, reliable internet service, and the skills needed to use broadband to improve their lives.

U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon ruled that the U.S.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that it is launching Spectrum.gov, which will bring all of NTIA’s spectrum resources for federal spectrum managers, policymakers, industry, and the public under one easy-to-navigate website. Assistant Secretary Roth announced the new website during her keynote remarks at the 2026 CTIA Summit.

On April 30, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) introduced a bill that would require the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to track the progress of the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program. This bill would require NTIA's top official—Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth—to take several new steps: publish a public dashboard tracking each state's BEAD progress, build a tool to help states track federal permits needed by their subgrantees, improve federal agencies' complianc

Google, Microsoft, and xAI have reached an agreement with the Trump administration to share early versions of their artificial-intelligence programs to assess their capabilities and security before releasing the models to the public. The Commerce Department’s Center for AI Standards and Innovation will lead evaluations of the AI programs. The center has completed more than 40 evaluations, including on models that remain unreleased.

The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) submitted the federal Universal Service Support Mechanisms fund size and administrative cost projections for the third quarter of calendar year 2026 (3Q2026). Upon approval of the quarterly funding requirements for the Support Mechanisms, the projected administrative expenses, and the submission of the contribution base amount, the Federal Communications Commission will establish a quarterly contribution factor.

We are reaping the fruit of the industry’s cowardice. For more than a year, most major media companies have stood by or aggressively acquiesced as President Trump and Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr pressured them through lawsuits and baseless investigations. Radio coverage of ICE raids? Investigated. A comedian’s joke? Investigated. Fair hiring for people of color? Reframed as racist. CBS installed a monitor. ABC paid out a settlement to the President. Nexstar and Sinclair pulled Jimmy Kimmel off the air on their local stations.

Top Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr condemning his ongoing attempts to chill speech and weaponize the agency against any criticism of President Trump—including Chairman Carr’s recent, unprecedented order requiring that Disney and its eight broadcast stations file to renew their licenses early, years ahead of their original schedule.